ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Anna Maria Island’s world-famous beaches have seen a record number of visitors this summer, and the Labor Day holiday is no exception.
With the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in many northern states that were locked down in the spring, summer statistics for the Island are rising, fueled by in-state visitors coming to the beach to escape the heat and out-of-state tourists who couldn’t previously take a vacation.
According to data gathered from the Manatee County Tax Collector, the three cities that make up Anna Maria Island saw a combined average increase in tourist taxes of about 40% in July – the most recent month for which records are available – compared to the same month in 2020, when the pandemic significantly slowed tourism.
Business owners and innkeepers were happy to see the traffic back up as thousands of visitors headed to the Island’s two main beaches, Manatee and Coquina, to celebrate what’s become known as the unofficial end of summer.
As the red tide that has plagued the waters since April begins to wane, the COVID-19 spike remains a serious concern for Florida residents. However, very few visitors appear to be letting these issues dampen their fun.
“We were concerned about red tide because we wanted to hit the beaches,” said Ken Barkoff, who was visiting for Labor Day weekend with his wife, Kim, and son. “Our son just moved here, and we wanted to see him. We’re vaccinated and took the precautions we needed to, in order to get here safely, so we’re not too worried about it,” Kim Barkoff added.
Other visitors shared the Barkoffs’ sentiment, seeming to be happy to visit and ready to enjoy a holiday with as little stress as possible.
“It’s easy to check on red tide online and I saw it was pretty much gone,” said Dixie Brooks, who was visiting the Island for the first time, making a quick, two-day trip from Missouri.
And while the official numbers on Labor Day visitors won’t be available for a few days, the endless stretch of beach umbrellas along the Gulf is a measure of the Island’s continued popularity, even with the spike in the COVID-19 Delta variant.
“The COVID situation is pretty much the same here as it is back home,” Brooks said, “so I’m not concerned.”
